Fallball Check-In 2012: Georgetown

Legendary coach Dave Urick stepped down at the Hilltop in July. And while it appeared the Hoyas were getting too late into the summer to make an impact hire, they landed one in former Maryland assistant Kevin Warne.

It's Warne's first Division I head coaching job, and he's making his mark in the fall: Promoting a change of culture that preaches competition and toughness.

Competition, competition, competition

IL visited Georgetown practice during a clear, sunny October afternoon. Warne said “competition” was the key for practice — something that was evident in all facets of the two-hour session.

“Certainly a culture of competitiveness,” Warne said of what he's trying to instill in his first year at the helm. “We want that competitive atmosphere, whether it's one-on-one, groundballs, one-on-one dodging and defending or one-on-one in a six-on-six concept. We want to make sure we enhance the competitiveness of practice.”

During practice, every aspect featured competition between players. After passing drills — which were all intense and high-speed with Warne periodically yelling “faster” — things got physical.

The team was split into blue and grey. Four offensive guys in blue (two behind the net, two up top) battled vs. three defenders in grey (a shorty up to and two longpoles behind the net). Warne would throw the ball in front of the crease, and then all seven players would go into a full-speed melee for the ball. Warne, being the defensive mind he is, would grow agitated as offensive players scooped up groundballs untouched, encouraging defenders to hit as hard as they could and yelling if they let up. “Go through the ball” was a common yell.

During the drill, redshirt senior defender Francis McDonough put on a big hit, which elicited a cheer and a smile from Warne and assistant coach Matt Rewkowski. For a series of groundballs, sophomore attackman Bo Stafford scooped and created scoring opportunities, spurring Warne to yell “someone blow him up, please!” to his defense. At least one stick broke in half, and competition was evident as there was some pushing and shoving between players as Warne would drop the ball.

This led to one-on-one groundballs: blue and grey players stood about 10 yards apart, Warne dropped the ball in the middle for a full speed dash to the ball and full contact as the players approached the ball. Full contact was encouraged, and players would cheer on as their color won a battle or put on a big hit.

The team practiced breaks next — everything kept on a timer by the scoreboard at Multi-Sport Field. Coach Rewkowski was not shy about jumping in and correcting mistakes when he saw them, stepping into the mix when defense failed to recognize a slow vs. fastbreak.

A blue vs. grey scrimmage was next, but competition didn't end there. To end practice, blue and grey each put up their fastest guy to do a full-field sprint. The loser's team had to run sprints. For the record, blue's Eliot Allen, a freshman from Ohio, edged grey's Chris Nourse in a neck-and-neck race.

Player observations

— As mentioned, Bo Stafford was impressive all practice. He was good on groundballs and finishing plays. In the Play For Parkinson's event, he was paired with sophomore Reilly O'Connor and senior Travis Comeau. Comeau had a nice handle all practice and some good shots from the wing, but the difficulty for Georgetown appears to be dodging from behind, though O'Connor did have at least three solid feeds from behind the net and seemed to have good chemistry with Jeff Fountain when they were together in the scrimmage.

— Zac Guy looks like he can be a great two-way midfielder for Georgetown after playing at attack for the Hoyas in the past. Guy was stuck on defense a few times, and he was more than capable of holding his own at the defensive end. On offense, he ripped a corner from about 15 yards out.

— Senior Jason McFadden was the best dodger from midfield. During the scrimmage, he broke down his defender and created some offense.

— A veteran defense will be good for this team — and Warne will only make this unit stronger. Brennan Bicknese seemed like the leader and was the most vocal. I observed senior Patrick Murray make some picks. Freshman Connor Bailey (Haverford, Pa.) had some runs with those two. Tyler Knarr, a redshirt junior, had one very well-timed double-team, and McDonough was good in transition for the Hoyas.

— No goalie stood out particularly in practice: There was a fairly consistent rotation and one didn't seem to get more time than another. Redshirt sophomore Jake Haley had some of the biggest stops of the day, though.

The Hoyas have missed the NCAA Tournament the past five years. This fact isn't lost on Warne, who wanted to set the expectation of winning from the get-go with his staff.

“I wanted to make sure I have guys who either coached, played in or won a national championship so our guys know what the standards will be,” he said.